 |
| Friday, October 23, 2009 |
|
| |
| |
Firms pay 'deferred associates' to do public interest work
Some large law firms that had committed to hire associates before the economic downtown have come up with an innovative tactic. They are paying the "deferred associates" stipends to spend a year doing public interest work until the business slowdown ends -- for as little as a third of the salary they'd expected.
The programs were "a creative response by the firms to what was a very ugly crisis," Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said. "My wish going forward is that what you can do in bad times you can do in good times." ABAJournal.com explores the possibility of such programs becoming permanent.
WATE.com carried this AP story
|
TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database or to obtain a text version of each opinion, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at the TBA's Membership Central.
00 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
01 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
You can obtain full-text versions of the opinions two ways. We recommend that you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. 1) Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
to your computer. 2) Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
and save a plain-text version of the opinion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BETTY L. DAVIS v. A. V. CONNER AND TIMOTHY BRYAN CONNER
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Phillips M. Smalling, Byrdstown, Tennessee, for the appellant, A. V. Conner.
Jon E. Jones and Andrew R. Binkley, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Betty L. Davis.
Judge: KIRBY
This case involves a claim of promissory fraud. The plaintiff is an elderly widow who lives on a farm. The defendant is in the oil business. The defendant approached the widow about drilling for
oil on her farm. He told the plaintiff that if she invested in the oil wells, he would match her
investment equally and manage the oil wells on her property. He proposed that they share in any
profits 65% to the plaintiff widow, and 35% to the defendant. The widow agreed. Over several
years, the widow invested over $100,000 in five oil wells. Some of the wells produced oil, and the
resulting profit was shared 65%/35%. The widow later discovered that the defendant had not, in
fact, invested any of his own money in the oil wells, and that he was mismanaging them. The widow
then filed this lawsuit against the defendant for misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, and
mismanagement of the oil wells. After a bench trial, the trial court awarded the widow
compensatory damages and punitive damages. It also divested the defendant of any future interest
in the oil wells on the widow's property. The defendant now appeals. We affirm the trial court's
decision in all respects.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2009/davisb_102309.pdf
|
|
 |
|
| TODAY'S NEWS |
|
Legal News
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
|
| Legal News |
| Wharton credits Williams with dream to be lawyer |
| Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton tells how a chance encounter with Avon Williams steered Wharton toward being a lawyer instead of a veterinarian. That moment came while he was watching Williams defend a civil-rights-era case in Lebanon. "I knew I wasn't strong enough to be something like a construction worker," Wharton said. "But I could be strong in mind, just like he was. ... The rule of law makes every man a big man." |
The Memphis Daily News reports
|
| Need is great for pro bono TennCare representation |
| A muscular dystrophy patient who represented herself at a recent TennCare hearing found it to be difficult but says she can't afford a lawyer. "If you don't speak the language of forms and things like that, you get lost," Angela Hibbitt said. She had contacted West Tennessee Legal Services for help but was turned away.
Executive Director Steven Xanthopoulos confirmed that the legal service declines almost all TennCare cases.
"It is very frustrating, but we don't have the resources," he said. "There are so many time-intensive cases, that we can't do them. I wish we could give people a meaningful source (in West Tennessee) but there really isn't one." |
Find out more in the Jackson Sun
|
| 8th District Drug Court is certified |
| The Eighth Judicial Drug Court received state certification recently, which means the court and its staff are following the guidelines established by the National Drug Court Institute. It also means something more tangible, director Jonathan Finley said, that the team has found a way to make those guidelines work successfully for its participants. The court's statistics include a low recidivism rate and a greater number of babies born drug free to their one-time addicted mothers. |
The Lafollette Press has more
|
| Reconciliation program celebrates 2 decades |
| The Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) in Crossville recently celebrated 20 years. The Cumberland County program became Tennessee's second VORP in the fall of 1989. There are now 13 programs in the state. VORP provides free, neutral, confidential and voluntary access to everyone to resolve disputes through mediation. |
The Crossville Chronicle reports
|
| Gonzales greeted with mixed response at UT Martin |
| Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales got a mixed reception during a speech at UT Martin on Thursday. Gonzales resigned in 2007 amid accusations that he had authorized the torture of terrorism suspects. A group of about 35 students protested the speech, in which Gonzales stressed the importance of education and also defended the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror. |
The Jackson Sun has this AP story
|
| Upcoming |
| Breakfast to honor Nashville pro bono stars |
| As part of Celebrate Pro Bono Month, the Nashville Bar Association's Pro Bono Program and the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will host a breakfast to honor "individuals whose efforts have helped blast pro bono into the 21st century." The breakfast is Oct. 27 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Legal Aid Society, 300 Deaderick Street, in Nashville. Those being honored are
Mary Beth Ausbrooks,
Margaret Behm,
Frank Grace,
Chris Cronk,
Justin Pitt,
Lauren Roberts,
Mike Sposato,
Jan Jordan,
David Taylor and
Melissa Wibbens. |
Find out more on the new Nashville Pro Bono blog
|
| AWA honors Justices Clark, Lee and Holder |
| The Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) will present a seminar honoring Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Cornelia A. Clark, Sharon G. Lee and Chief Justice Janice M. Holder at Memphis's Botanic Garden's Hardin Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. The justices will present "Road to the Tennessee Supreme Court: Empowering Ourselves" and "Arguing and Writing Persuasively to the Tennessee Supreme Court." With three women on the five-member court, Tennessee is one of only three states with a majority female Supreme Court.
The event is part of the AWA's 30th anniversary. For table reservations, email Mary-Morgan Whitfield or call (901) 821-0044; for single tickets, email Michelle Harkavy or call (901) 291-1500. |
|
| TBA Member Services |
| Ship directly from Microsoft Office Outlook with FedEx QuickShip |
| Now you can ship your FedEx packages directly from the Microsoft Office Outlook application -- and save money doing it. It's a fast and convenient way to easily access some of the most popular features on fedex.com using Microsoft technology. That's why you should Think FedEx First.
|
Take advantage of your member discounts on select FedEx shipping services and FedEx OfficeSM business services
|
| |
|
| |
Discontinue your TBA Today subscription? ... Surely not!
But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at:
http://www.tba2.org/tbatoday/unsub_tbatoday.php
Questions, comments: Email us at TBAToday@tnbar.org
About this publication: Today's News is a compilation of digests of news reports of interest to Tennessee lawyers compiled by TBA staff, links to digested press releases, and occasional stories about the TBA and other activities written by the TBA staff or members. Statements or opinions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff.
© Copyright 2009 Tennessee Bar Association
|
|
|
